JaCIRT Reports Significant Reduction in Attempted Cyberattacks

Director of the Jamaica Cyber Incident Response Team (JaCIRT), Lieutenant Colonel Godphey Sterling, is reporting a 78 per cent reduction in the number of attempted cyberattacks experienced locally over the past year.

“This is due primarily to greater awareness within our population. Actions are being taken to mitigate vulnerabilities rather than treating with breaches and, therefore, attackers now find that they have less and less vulnerable enterprises and connections that they can exploit,” he informed JIS News.

The Director noted that despite this reduction, there has been an increase in the number of ransomware compromises experienced in Jamaica.

Compromises have been identified in the hotel industry, financial institutions, insurance companies and media entities, with some cases involving the exfiltration of personally identifiable information.

Affected entities are urged to report the matter to the Office of the Information Commissioner and inform their clients of potential data exposure, particularly those in the financial sector.

“It, therefore, means that if you are a client of the financial institutions that were hit, you need to be paying attention to your accounts. Pay attention to your balances for at least the next six months to ensure that you can spot any undue or unfamiliar transactions, particularly for large sums, on your accounts,” Col. Sterling said.

The Jamaica Cyber Incident Response Team (JaCIRT) is a Division of the Office of the Prime Minister.

It is dedicated to improving the country’s cybersecurity framework, providing support to both public and private sectors and fostering a culture of cybersecurity awareness among all Jamaicans.